My Top 10 FAVORITE Weird Guitar Effects (2018)

[@maxkutner8419]

Hi. I'm one of the guitarists in the present version of the Magic Band and I just wanted to thank you for mentioning "Trout Mask Replica". The only original alumnus presently involved is John "Drumbo" French but John was one of the longest serving members of the band and appears on all of Trout Mask. I highly recommend reading either his book called "Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic" or Bill Harkleroad's (guitarist from TMB who was called "Zoot Horn Rollo") book called "Lunar Notes". Finally, so-called weird albums for you to check out: "Music of Guatemala" by the San Lucas Band and "Basic" by Fred Maher/Robert Quine. Maybe also "Bitches Without Britches" by Kevin Blechdom. Thanks. Love the videos.

[@ryanberry4670]

@Gupster 23 at the party of special things to do of course.

[@andywason3414]

Glad you guys are still around. I heard some earlier recordings (minus Don) and I think John French perhaps?, did an admirable job of the vocals. Still got most of CB's albums on vinyl. Cheers!

[@timmungenast]

Thanks for these suggestions, Max, and thanks for keeping the music alive.

[@neut9270]

Hi from the future, I would like to recommend to anyone who genuinely enjoys TMR to check out the band Still House Plants. It's a bit simpler, they are not juggling as many instruments, but it's a similar chaotic vibe.

[@mattparker8747]

Fast and bulbous....

[@EdSantilli]

Please plug in that Miku Stomp, grab a slide, and play The Great Gig in the Sky.

[@MiguelBaptista1981]

Oh man. Someone. Do this.

[@wesleyzimmerman94]

That won't work, the tracking is trash

[@shitmandood]

...said no one ever, nor asked for. lol. Despite the high price of the discontinued Miku, I've not heard one song where I'd care to listen to it. Literally it will give you minutes of fun...then put away to collect dust forever.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Worst version ever. It doesn't even exist and it's already terrible.

[@bigdaddy496]

Lmao

[@b4itcools]

Top Ten Weird Pedals 1:58 Earthquaker Devices Arpenoid 3:05 DOD FX13 Gonkulator Modulator 4:23 ZVEX Lo-Fi Junky 5:32 ZVex Ooh-Wah 6:30 Mattovere Electronics TetraStep MKII 7:49 Lovetone Flange (with No Name) 9:14 Boss Super Distortion and Feedbacker DS-2 10:06 Korg Miku Stomp Vocaloid 11:05 JHS Mod to DS-1, Synth Drive 12:25 Fender Runaway Feedback Expression Pedal Honorable Mentions: 15.28 Walrus Janus - Fuzz/Trem with Joystick 15:35 Death By Audio Echo Dream 2 15:44 Way Huge Ring Worm 15:46 Dr. Scientist Bit Quest 15:53 SubDecay Noise Box 15:56 Zvex Fuzz Probe 16:13 DOD Gonkulator Reissue

[@movimentodoscacos]

You are amazing and deserve to be happy, thanks

[@duffman18]

You are the MVP

[@Quendi1234]

b4itcools woulda stopped watching this video if not for you..

[@RichusRkr]

Old Blood Noise Reflector

[@Dan-zz1lm]

2:55 MAKIN MY WAY DOWNTOWN

[@golos9]

This is the best comment of my whole life

[@Marigoldpyre]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who heard that lmao

[@ghiekorg]

i saw Terry Crews

[@Cauldronofbats666]

it’s really cool how you talk about every type of guitar effect out there. instead of just pedaling your own. (no pun intended). you’re clearly very passionate about guitar sounds and it’s very fun to watch.

[@jts3339]

I saw Captain Beefheart at Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati when I was in college. It was on a freezing day and a group of us waited outside the stage door to see if we could walk in free with the band. When he walked up with his band I said, “How ‘bout it, Captain?” He looked around and replied, “It’s so cold the birds won’t fly... come on in” in a gravelly voice, and put on a great show.

[@stacysublett5809]

"Weird is good" That's been our family motto for years. We adopted 6 kids to go along with our 3 bio-kids. At one point we were reminding our then 9th grade daughter "Weird is good!" She replied, "yeah, mom, but sometimes weird is just weird." Good pedal stuff. I've watched several episodes today, and I think I'm going to send you some stuff to mod.

[@RCAvhstape]

2:00 Earthquaker Devices Arpanoid 3:10 DOD FX13 Gonkulator Modulator 4:24 Zvex Lo Fi Junky 5:30 Zvex Ooh Wah 6:30 Mattoverse Electronics Tetrastep MkII 7:50 Lovetone Flange With No Name 9:13 Boss DF-2 Super Distortion & Feedbacker 10:05 Korg Miku Stomp 11:10 JHS-circuit-bent Boss DS-1 12:23 Fender Runaway Feedback Expression 14:00 Record Time! Honorable Mentions: 15:22 Walrus Janus 15:38 DBA Echo Dream 2 15:43 Way Huge Ringwork 15:46 Dr. Scientist Bitquest 15:43 Sub Decay Noise Box 15:55 Zvex Fuzz Probe 16:13 DOD Gonkulator reissue

[@simonv7449]

Hey man, I never tried a JHS pedal before and fell on your channel by surprise. I want to give you praise for this channel, it’s good to see such recognition and optimism. I’m talking about your praise of your competitors, it is a noble passion. The rainger video is the perfect exemple. As a diy enthusiast who likes to mess with pedals , MIG-50 owner , and beefheart fan (is it « through the eyes of magic » you’re talking about at the end?) I feel like a brother from another mother. And your enthusiasm cheered me in a rough patch so cheers to that. Oh and I will absolutely buy a clover

[@davewebb3847]

DOD FX22 Vibrothang. It's a trem, it's a phaser, it's neither, and if you're not careful, it will start talking to you. Very usable at less extreme settings.

[@robertlibutti6605]

This dude has a lot of Sovtek MiG 60 amps. I had one of those in high school that I got new for $250; 60 watt all tube head. Biggest gear regret was selling that amp.

[@capth00k]

yeah, I was wondering about those ... I passed one up recently. Apparently they are build pretty solidly; almost a point to point design but with a PCB in the middle I think if I remember correctly...

[@robertlibutti6605]

I was stupid and bought a Mess Dual Recto. I really didn't understand tube amps at the time and thought it was better and what I needed. Needless to say, that thing didn't get much use and was also eventually sold (for not to much of a loss luckily). Wish I'd just understood what I had and kept the Sovtek.

[@zeusapollo8688]

Same

[@stefanpalicki3538]

you can get one for about 500 on reverb if you really want it back EDIT: and EHX makes them

[@m0j0b0ne]

Note that the amp with the lit jewel light is a Fender combo.

[@panhandlegeardemos6837]

Also, put that miku pedal infront of a volume pedal and then use delay/reverb and you got yourself an interesting swell sound.

[@tobiasgehring2462]

I'm so disappointed that there are so many "weird pedal" videos that include the Miki and then just use it by itself or right at the end of a signal chain. Sure if you're doing a list of pedals just giving a quick overview (like this one), you don't necessarily have time to show it off, but I've seen several videos that spend ages doing stuff with it, then declare it garbage because they clearly have no idea how to use it well. Stick it right at the start of the chain, then put some interesting stuff after it to morph it's vaguely crappy raw sound into something actually cool. Or at the very least chuck on some chorus and a dab of reverb to give it some depth and space.

[@pilotdrift05]

Make a video of it

[@ChaitanyaBhagwatChai]

@@tobiasgehring2462 make a video of it :D

[@Dandelion-32]

I think it would be interesting with an envelope follower after it.

[@themikeaustin]

John Coltrane's "Ascension" album was weird for me. I went into Sam Goody on 5th Ave and 42nd Street back in the mid-60s and asked an employee to recommend a Coltrane record. "Ascension" is what he chose. For lack of a better word, it's "free" jazz. There are ~10 musicians on the record. I used to bet friends that they couldn't listen to the record all the way through. I never lost. Later, I worked in a pizza place and would play this music when we wanted patrons to leave at closing time. The person who wrote the liner notes stated that the music was so intense that non-musicians in the recording studio were screaming and the writer was amazed that the screaming didn't bleed over onto the recording.

[@twilightaudioelectronics]

Same with his live in Belgium 1965 with the Coltrane quartet, so intense never felt anything like it

[@Markus_Breuss]

great record! but weird? it's normal!

[@pankomitch8094]

there’s a gonkulator for $85 at a little pawn shop in quebec city that buddy said he’s had there for years and no ones bought it. it’s probably still there if you care to look

[@gordrock]

Adult Themes for Voice is an album recorded by Mike Patton (vocalist for Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom) in hotel rooms during a Faith No More tour. It consists of vocal noises by Patton himself. The 34 tracks are not considered singing in any conventional sense, as they consist mainly of Patton shouting, screaming, clapping, squeaking and moaning. These elements were then spliced and edited in a fashion that resulted in a dramatic ebb and flow of bizarre, albeit organic sounding compositions. The compositions do not adhere to traditional song structure. The tracks are named after hotel and room he was staying in.

[@groovydjs]

Super Groovy Channel. Spending most of my time here now.

[@Mark-gd5vr]

@Jaziel Achilles bot

[@Mark-gd5vr]

@Gavin Benedict bot

[@timmungenast]

Same here. It's just a damned pleasant place to be, and our Josh's quiet deadpan flair for the absurd is a joyous thing.

[@stbreal]

One of my favorite weird records and just plain favorite records is Torture Garden by Naked City. John Zorn is at his punk rock Jazz Thrash best in this record. He enlists an insane Japanese vocalist named Eye from the band The Boredoms and don’t forget Bill Frisell on guitar. Nirvana took them on tour at one point. Great stuff!

[@darthanddedeu2580]

Check out z-rock Hawaii, it's ween with the Boredoms

[@johnblood10]

I know I’m replying to a year-old comment, but describing Eye as “insane” is quite literally true, and might even be understating things. One of his “danger music” performances ended when he drove a bulldozer through the rear wall of the venue and onto the stage, which I’d imagine sorta signals the end of the show by default.

[@bardobro]

Love the Captain Beefheart shoutout, especially from a young whipper-snapper! You give me hope for the future of weirdness in music!

[@laikaproductions8062]

no wonder I cant find any sovtek

[@skyviewdesign]

EQD Rainbow Machine is definitely one for the weird list. Love their stuff! So many weird & unique effects coming from Akron!

[@LordStompyHarpLoonyTunes]

Rainbow Machine, the sound of pixies on acid. Look up Pepe Seppuku Tape Warp on YT. That pedal is freaky amazing...a very warped dark acid trip pedal

[@JasminBellavance_Music]

Fantomas - Fantomas (1999) is pretty epic! Saw them live one time and the show lasted only 50min...on that 50min, Patton played at less 10min of cymbales (on Dave's drums)! He then said "You like that assholes?" and when on with 5 more minutes of cymbales as an encore and leave....wow!

[@burnsdesignco5593]

Love seeing my old bassman being put to use so much Josh! Glad you’re liking it

[@greggjohnson7]

I was wondering about that! Is that a custom job? Cant find another like it

[@delivrance3961]

Weird n#1: wmd Geiger counter, special mention to absolutely every death by audio pedal...and btw nice shirt, these races are my fav ones! Great stuff

[@michaelsnydermusic]

I love my Warped Vinyl! It gave me a sound that I’ve been wanting for years. It’s made my albums way more unique. Just use it in moderation when appropriate. Great for lofi ambient tunes.

[@teachingfeller]

Ok Josh, now you're wearing a Cobbled Classics tee. That's freaking awesome.

[@JayBeeBikes]

Larry Johnson he gets his shirts from threadandspoke.com

[@teachingfeller]

Josh Beck Thanks!

[@Kohntarkosz]

A few a great "weird" records: Henry Kaiser: many of his records, notably Aloha, Outside Pleasure, It's A Wonderful Life, Blue Water Ascent, Garden Of Memories, and too many others to count. Fred Frith: Another one who's made too many albums to count, but one really good place are the three Guitar Solos albums from the 70's. Actually, the second and third ones are various artists compilations (which were curated by Frith), but they're all pretty wild records. Guitar Solos 2 was my introduction not only to Frith, but also Hans Reichel and Derek Bailey (all of whom I had read about in Guitar Player), and to this day the only recording I"ve heard from one G.F. Fitzgerald. Elliott Sharp: Another guy who's been around forever, Elliott's a fantastic composer and multi-instrumentalist who's actually invented and built a few of his own instruments. He appeared on the old Night Music show in the late 80's, performing a track called Free Society, where he triggers vocal samples of Pat Robertson from his MIDI guitar. Among his many records I'd check out are Haptikon, Sakuraza, and Isosceles. Hans Reichel: late, great German guitarist who designed and built this own guitars that, quite simply, could do things off-the-shelf guitars couldn't. For many years, he played guitars that had a stretch of fingerboard on the "wrong" side of the bridge, which he'd use to get some very strange, very beautiful sounds. And he did most of it without effects. He also invented an instrument called the daxophone, which he used to make what some even stranger sounds (many of which sounded like animals). Check out his albums Bonobo Beach, Cocobolo Nights, Dawn Of The Dachsman, and Lower Lurum. Derek Bailey: another guitarist who almost never used effects, apart from a volume pedal and the occasional distortion pedal, Bailey is considered one of the founding fathers of "non-idiomatic improvisation". He did many great records, a lot of which you can find right here on KZbin. A few that I like in particular are Topography Of The Lungs (which features saxophonist Evan Parker and percussionist Han Bennink), Dart Drug (a duo record with percussionist Jamie Muir), and and Wireforks, his duo album with Henry Kaiser. And I'm apparently one of the very few people (even in "free improv" circles) who likes the 3 CD set The Sign Of Four, his mid 90's summit meeting with Gregg Bendian, Paul Wertico and Pat Metheny (yes, THE Pat Metheny). Sonny Sharrock: Sharrock considered himself a "jazz" guitarist. Well, I guess you could call him that, though his playing owed more to the more "out" efforts of sax players like John Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. The albums he made in the 80's and 90's featured rock and funk oriented backing, but with this insane wailing guitar on top. Seize The Rainbow, Ask The Ages (which features both Sanders and legendary drummer Elvin Jones). If you ever watched the TV show Space Ghost: Coast To Coast during the 90's, that was Sonny's over the top guitar playing on the opening theme music, and that's also him playing the wild, uncredited Echoplexed slide guitar solo on Miles Davis' A Tribute To Jack Johnson. Sun Ra: Saturn's ambassador to Earth, and one of the greatest band leaders of all time. Ra did a LOT of really crazy records. He was one of the great innovators of "free jazz" (though he hated that term, because "True Freedom doesn't exist in this universe", one of the first jazz musicians to play an electric piano in the mid 50's, and then later one of the first to use a synthesizer. Some of his mid 60's records featurign him playing a Selmer Clavioline (notably on side one of The Magic City and Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy), which was an early electronic keyboard, and later he used early Moog synths (heard on My Brother The Wind Vols I and II and other 70's era recordings), and made use of combo organs such as the Gibson Kalamazoo (check out side two of Atlantis) and a couple different Farfisa and Yamaha organs in the early and mid 70's. He was also the star of one of the strangest movies ever Space Is The Place, the greatest sci-fi/blaxploitation/concert B-movie ever made. He and his band could play the most straight jazz big band imaginable and then turn on a dime and "take you into deep space" with their improvisations before bringing you back to Earth (I'm reasonably certain this is where the Grateful Dead got some of their modus operandi from). All of the albums I've named here are awesome, so are the three albums made by their appearances at the Ann Arbor Jazz And Blues Festivals in the mid 70's, Life Is Splendid, Outer Space Employment Agency, and It Is Forbidden. Nidhamu and Dark Myth Equation, recorded during a trip to Egypt in the early 70's, is another great record. And have to mention Black Myth/Out In Space also. Karlheinz Stockhausen: One of the strangest of all 20th century composers, Stockhausen was a true eccentric. He supposedly claimed to have live a past life near the star Sirius, and developed all kinds of maddening ways of notating and performing his pieces. He reportedly had a piece that asked for the musicians to play notes that were in tune with the rotation of the galaxy, or something like tha, and when one of the musicians "How are we supposed to do that", Herr Karlheinz condescendingly told him, "I will TEACH you how". Great albums including Sternklang (a piece for five groups of musicians, traditionally performed in a large park), Hymnen (a double LP tape piece, mixing recordings of the national anthem of "all nations" with electronic music and other sounds), Mantra (piano duet piece featuring ring modulators), and Mikrophonie (two mid 60's, the first featuring a 60" tam-tam being played by two musicians and being processed through filters, the second featuring a choir, Hammond organ, and ring modulators). Morton Subotnick: One of the original innovators of live performance electronic music, Subotnick and a couple of his compatriots commissioned Don Buchla to design and build an early synthesizer for them (Buchla hated the world "synthesizer", preferring instead to call his instruments "Electronic Music Boxes"), which Subotnick put to brilliant use on records like Silver Apples Of The Moon, The Wild Bull, Touch, 4 Butterflies and Until Spring. Magma: the legendary French band who created a sound so unique and singular that an entire genre of progressive rock was coined to describe groups influenced by Magma. Their early albums tell the tale of the descendants of a group of humans who fled the Earth and found another planet to settle on, which they named Kobaïa. The lyrics are all delivered in the native language of these peoples, known as Kobaïan. Subsequent albums voyaged into other conceptual pieces, mostly still sung in Kobaïan. Some of their albums consist of one single piece of music. I like to describe it as "French jazz musicians playing a rock music version of Wagner or Stravinsky", but really even that doesn't do them justice. If you don't see God while listening to Magma (or while attending one of their concerts), you never will!

[@Markus_Breuss]

great comment! thumbs up 👍

[@less_concerned1221]

The Digitech Space Station.. incredibly weird and awesome.

[@estebanpalacios4476]

I felt tears of joy well up in my eyes as the beautiful voice of miku was being rendered over the sound of you caressing the guitar strings. My search for tone and music that can ever be considered of the caliber of what you just played is over. Miku is love, Miku is life.

[@DrewrGriff]

Giles Corey is my go-to weird album. Written by Dan Barrett (Have a Nice Life), this record is a goddamn trip. It's a little difficult to identify the album's genre... maybe noise-drone-ambient-folk-sadtime music? Nevermind, that wasn't difficult. The album and it's accompanying book follow this story Barrett wrote about a guy's experience with the occult. If you're at all interested, the first two tracks are a good indicator of what the record has to offer. Super DIY recording style. Super moody. Super super.

[@doomsdaydanceparty7646]

dude thats good shit, glad to see theirs have a nice life fans out there, huge deathconciousness fan. Not sure what my go to weird album is, theres so many, idk anything by ween, lightning bolt, butthole surfers, sonic youth, my bloody valentine, guerilla toss, don cab, ect ect

[@witeshade]

Wow, not a name I expected to see on youtube! HANL is awesome. I miss In Pieces too, Dan's old band.. Lions Write History was a killer post-hardcore/ambient album.

[@RockyH.]

Josh you truly crack me up man, that dry no-play humor you have is gut busting man. Please never change and thank you.

[@enkiea8322]

You just broke Reverb.

[@dikkeskieven484]

Never pictured you as being a pro cycling fan, but here you are wearing a t-shirt with my favourite classics

[@robertlewis5439]

Favorite "weird" album is Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices (I've liked weirder albums, but this one has transfixed me with astonishment for 24 years.) Favorite weird pedal is a no-name MIJ 80s-era garage sale flanger I got in high school after a "friend" trashed my other no-name garage sale flanger (it was the 80s and "MIJ" were dirty words.) [Next favorite is a BBE Two Timer analog delay that glitches amusingly on short delay times.]

[@smackroscoe]

All the glory to you for professing love & appreciation for your competitors products. Mad respect to you good sir.

[@westendmotel1989]

My Captain Beefheart Cover Band "Trout Mask Replica Replica" . has always had trouble finding anyone brave enough to put in the effort... lol

[@WarrenPostma]

That's so meta that several alternative universes just stopped existing when you wrote that.

[@katzillaswrath]

First off, this is my second JHS VLOG video and I am really enjoying them, thank you for making them. Also, it goes without saying, but I'm totally in awe of the gear. But my favourite part of the video is at 15:21, the subtitles read "because I just I just have so many pills and I just love those". :P

[@Jaspertine]

Does anyone else catch themselves singing "he has the box" when re-watching old episodes?

[@baorozzo]

Me too LOL

[@robertwest9643]

So happy he mentioned the Echo Dream 2, been on the fence about swapping it out over the years but bc he found some joy in it I’ll keep it forever, or at least until I start questioning its awesomeness once again 😋 Thanks Josh

[@attackofthepacifists]

Favorite weird records: Double Negative by Low, The Pod by Ween, and El Oso by Soul Coughing

[@levkamenev3904]

Attack Of The Pacifists I will now go download El Oso.

[@adammoravek1785]

Attack Of The Pacifists The Pod is classic. I love Locust Abortion Technician by the Butthole Surfers... Hairway to Steven is great too.

[@sryburn641]

Attack - you have great taste.

[@lukashodgson]

As a newcomer to the channel, I'm loving the breadth of cycling themed t shirts... As a fellow guitar playing cyclist, this guy is a man after my own heart.

[@quintas66]

I started listening to Trout Mask Replica in high school and I'm still freaked-out by it.

[@CaptPostmod]

My favorite weird guitar effect is one preset on the late-90s DOD Tec4X. The effect is called "Pixelator", I believe. It mixes a bit crushing fuzz with a gonkulator ring modulator that acts as a synth step filter. It's similar to the Arpanoid but also adds in the bit crushing fuzz that makes the whole thing sound massive and synthy. If memory serves, DOD claimed that NIN used the effect or something like that.

[@ZombifiedGenitalia]

As a Belgian cycling fan, loving the t-shirt!

[@gropifiasco]

as a belgian, loving the t-shirt !

[@blinkendecharizard7080]

Belgium club right here

[@paddling_out]

Sorely missing from this list: Mtl.asm (Count to 5, 856 For Zellersasn), Red Panda (Particle, Tensor), Dwarfcraft (Grazer, Wizard of Pitch), Hologram (Infinite Jets, Dream Sequence), Chase Bliss (Thermae, or everything they make if you go crazy with the ramping)

[@markhamstra5473]

Weird is my favorite kind of pedal. All the amp-in-a-box pedals and the 10,000th variation on a Tube Screamer bore me. A pedal that does something way different from what an amp alone can do is much more interesting.

[@psilocypher]

When I clicked on this video, my arponoid was the first thing that came to mind. Then that was the first one you showed! Awesome.

[@davelanciani-dimaensionx]

I love my Digitech FreQout pedal. I'm a home-studio guy, and I love getting feedback at VERY LOW volume. I use it all the time. It's probably the result of the Boss Feedbacker and that Fender thing mating. Trout Mask Replica was recorded by Frank Zappa at the house that Don Van Vliet and his band were renting. Van Vliet was actually quite mad at Frank for recording it there, because he thought Frank was just being cheap. Frank was just trying to record them in an environment that he thought they'd be comfortable and creative in.

[@goopy1971]

Partially true. Some songs such as "China Pig" and "Hair Pie" were recorded there but the majority of the album was recorded in a studio. In a single session I think? Not to be a know it all. I read John Frenchs book in high school for this.

[@TheFarout69]

I have one of those. I use it in the "Kill Dry" mode for synthy Ebow like swells. It's way cool.

[@Robert-xn3jb]

Weirdest record? Delusion of the Fury of course! The booklet is priceless. The story behind the music and recording is priceless. Love the blog. Robert

[@panhandlegeardemos6837]

I’m really enjoying these vlogs! Glad to see Mattoverse make the list. I have the Octostep and a few of his earlier versions of stuff.

[@thomasmullin9315]

Honestly this series is my current fave. Really well done, JHS!

[@mootbooxle]

Trout Mask Replica is a record that I can't imagine my life without.

[@bearclan]

Captain Beefheart made a bunch of crazy great albums! I've been a fan for OVER FIFTY (50) years. Fur real, man! Don Van Vliet is/was the kat'z pyjamas, the beez neez, and one thoroughly creative oddball. Thanks for giving him a shout.

[@williamdavis7274]

Loved that you futures some feedbacker style pedals.... Seems like such an obviously musical sound... I'm surprised they've never really been popular. Have you tried Digitechs entry, (into the controlled feedback in a pedal sweepstakes) FreqOut. I've actually tried a lot of em and this has been my favorite

[@phogue1]

The Runaway would make a great reissue.

[@ashleylanagen9048]

Boss's fb-2 (I believe?) is unreal feedback wise. when you hold it down it pumps 48 db's of clean juice for actual feedback. Nothin like the real thing.

[@americanvelcrofilms]

GREAT VIDEO! My favorite weird album: Captain Vapour Athletes by Buffalo Daughter (1996). I saw them play at Tibetan Freedom back in '98 and fell in love! It's a really catchy odd record if you give it a listen. Rhythm-wise it has hints of Kid Koala if you're familiar with him. Just great vintage 90's weird stuff!

[@mindbodylightsound10]

"Out to Lunch" by Eric Dolphy is similar to Trout Mask Replica in that it sounds improvised but is actually totally written and rehearsed.

[@Markus_Breuss]

there are improvisations!!!

[@IsaacGKeel]

Just a fact about trout mask replica, Zappa had two record labels at the time “straight records” for releases that weren’t out of the ordinary and “bizarre records” for the out there stuff… he released this under “ straight records” thanks for a good episode

[@Ishkybibble]

I think Safe as Milk is an under-rated album, but I’m glad you mentioned TMR, as it is truly a strange album! Captain Beefheart!

[@asmahism]

Kevin McErlean Lick my Decals is in my opinion a better album than trout mask but it’s always overshadowed by TMR. I get it though TMR just has that something. From the cover to the music it carries weird weight. Anyway I love Safe as Milk as well, I like to bug friends by saying eeee-lec-trisss-a-teeeee at random times.

[@aliasdandavisofficial]

"Safe As Milk" has Ry Cooder on it. That's all you need to say. Totally agree. Great record.

[@williamolsen20]

Safe as Milk would be the first album I would recommend to a first time Beefheart listener, it is more accessible than TMR, and it is fucking great.

[@MarsHottentot]

Kevin McErlean As much as I love TMR, Safe as Milk was my introduction to the Captain and will forever be my favorite. Drop Out Boogie just slays.

[@lorensteele2962]

Love safe as milk

[@dazdazza]

Cardiacs - On Land and in the Sea. Bonkers , melodic , impossible , timeless. The greatest pop album in the world but at first listeners may be confused with its genre. It’s heavy aggressive and as profound as love on a perfect day. 30 years old and sounds like it was made yesterday. It’s a true gift. The 5 piece play as a unit in a way that particular instruments are redundant to the collective. Makes Zappa look amateur because cardiacs write epic songs with melodies - this not arty jazz noodling with smutty humour (and I love Zappa) . Oh and my first was a DS1 - I hated it , too processed, however used it for years due to being 12 years old. Great show Uber nerd😁

[@gfgf9300]

Lo Fi Loop Junky (one of my top 5 ever). Weird record? Storm & Stress "Under Thunder and Fluorescent Light" (Ian Williams' pre Battles band).

[@yaledelay]

I saw SS on that tour, it was weird. They chased most of the crowd away.

[@gfgf9300]

Very underrated band. And Williams' guitar work on that record is really remarkable. Like a liquid version of Marc Ribot's approach :)

[@sammadden5540]

Good call, I love me some Ian williams

[@curtislitchfield1378]

NOICE!!! I have NOS Gonkulator due to a mixup at the local shop right around the time it was bought out by a larger chain store. They found it in the back of the store room from when the ordered it years before, and I signed it out to try it out (because I love Incubus and freaked out when I saw the pedal, because it was discontinued even back then). When I brought it back a week later the owners of the store changed and they had never put it in inventory. Told me to just keep it. So I got a brand new Gonkulator about 10 years after it was discontinued. Still one of my favs.

[@DavidDiMuzio]

I enjoyed this so much. The anime pedal killed me.

[@DerAykac]

The Miku kinda became something to get your hands on. Google the price of that thing, you will be blown away.

[@Mollohandro]

Next time something like that is new and still for sale, I’ll have to check it out!

[@brainsplosion3000]

i spent way too much on this pedal, then found a japanese children's toy that did the same thing for a couple of bucks 🤣

[@michaelcraig9449]

It probably would.

[@Mollohandro]

@@brainsplosion3000 What's the children's toy?

[@leonardo.rafael]

Thank you for introducing me to the Fender Runnaway. I looked for a demo video and was lucky enough to buy one immediately.

[@hirekeenan]

The Snarling Dog Mold Spore is my favorite weird pedal. Everything that goes through it seems to become maniacal.

[@hughatkins6521]

My first copy of TMR was left in my car in the sun and warped the vinyl. I was telling a friend how much I like the record but how weird it was and lent him that copy, not knowing about the warpage. My friend agreed - the record was indeed weird and actually warped. I bought a second copy and took care of it, still have it. I saw Captain Beefheart twice: once at the Whiskey in Hollywood but he did not have the Magic Band on that show and it was more like the Captains earlier blues-ier material. The second time I saw him was with the Magic Band at The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach and I can attest that "Trout Mask Replica" was indeed composed and rehearsed music. So glad I caught that second show!

[@mikecerame9008]

Joel Korte actually designed the Lofi Junky if I'm not mistaken.

[@reynoldswrap36]

Can confirm. I worked at a pedal shop that dealt with both companies. I believe the story goes that Joel wanted to do more weird stuff, ZVEX was kind of holding him back on the circuits he could get through into production, and when his brother passed away, he decided to leave and try to make it on his own doing what he loves. The original Warped Vinyl is basically the Lofi Junky with a lot more control

[@nodfactor8808]

Wow! That's cool! Thanks

[@jensenbell]

Still hooked on this Vlog, J. // Favorite Weird Pedal: WMD Geiger Counter Pro (rented it). For a sound track gig. 8-bit game heaven. Favorite Weird Albums: My Dad's copy of Wildman Fisher "My name is Larry..." ..also a Zappa joint. My copy of The Suburban Lawns "The Suburban Lawns" 1981 ... amazing sounds; the singer sounds like the coolest 21 year old female guitar pedal ever. My mom's copy of something called "Curved Air..." man, that was weird. Also somebody made me a compilation of songs and sounds by an English Band called Hawkwind... right before i played on one of their Jam Sessions. Just to get me ready... I'm hooked and I still listen all the time. I don't even eat acid.

[@ThomasAtzinger]

"One evening with Wild Man Fisher". That's hard to find - and really weird. Also produced by Frank Zappa, and it has one of the best love songs ever: "All I Think About Is You"

[@lesnelson6408]

Weirdest pedal I ever had was the Ring Modulator I built from Craig Anderton's Electronic Projects for Musicians; could get strange gong-like sounds and abnormal harmonics; plug a mic in, nifty fake vocoder stuff. My friends stopped liking me until I shut it off.

[@cameronmee7634]

Surprised the Montreal Assembly Count To Five didn't make it to the list.

[@chrisshacklett2999]

That ‘oh wah’ May have been used on 311’s ‘flowing’. I love that song and I now love that pedal.

[@afern2007]

My favorite “weird” albums are anything by Deerhoof, but especially Milkman-it was unlike anything I had ever heard before.

[@ThePianotuna]

Thanks for reminding me of them,someone gave me all their records was a strange few hours listening to it all in a row

[@MarsHottentot]

Milkman and the one prior - Revillie - both are soo good, I jump between the two as my faves. They've changed a lot over their career but, definitely see them live. Greg is one of the best drummers I've ever seen - full spectrum with a snare, a kick and a crash.

[@wulyf4lyf]

I love Trout Mask, it’s one of my holy grail vinyl LPs. I scored a 1st press of the original Straight label, with the inserts and posters , at some small record shop in 2001 for maybe 60 bucks in a VG+ condition. The history you gave on Trout Mask is pretty accurate. There’s a great VOX earworm video on KZbin about it, and what makes it so brilliant (the various instruments each playing in different specific time signatures, tunings,etc) Apparently, according to a professor at Berkeley, and former members of the magic band, Don Van Vliet could only really play piano, and he’d bang out the ideas for the songs and tell the band to figure out how to make them come to life, with no understanding really, of composition, how difficult the ideas were to execute...etc. I highly recommend the VOX video on it. All kinds of made up rumors had circulated for years when I first heard it in my 20s, that Don’t Van Vliet kept the band captive by dosing them w LSD, only feeding them bread and water, they weren’t allowed to leave, he chased band members who tried to escape...then there’s the rumor that he wrote the entire record in 8 minutes on piano, and the band created the songs from it. The reality is that the songs were very precisely rehearsed. It’s a really weird record, but I love it. Some other weird records I love are Black Dice-Beaches and Canyons, Boredoms- Super AE, U.S. Maple- Acre Thrills and Talker, Brainiac- Hissing Prigs in Static Courure, Smack Bunny Baby, and Bonsai Superstar, Liars-Sisterworld, Mess, and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, The Crainium-A New Music for a New Kitchen (if you can find it. Cd has been out of print since the early 2000s, and it doesn’t stream) Fiery Furnaces-Blueberry Boat, all of Xiu Xiu’s catalog (pedal heavy, original, like a completely weird Joy Division in the best way)and last year’s Black Midi-Schlagenheim are definitely some of the weirder albums I’ve love. I love so much weirder stuff, that it was hard to just list 1, so, my apologies.

[@MisterGuitarItalia]

Thanks, but I wish you'd talked about the MXR Blue Box...

[@patrickhaynes2692]

favorite weird pedal is the DOD Carcosa. just a really strange fuzz that gets some cool squelchy tones, but can also clean up and do a good Maestro impression.

[@joseph-ow1hf]

I need a pedal that magically makes me sound like I can actually play the guitar. If ya got one of those.....I'm all in. ;-)

[@jhspedals]

lol

[@brainsplosion3000]

i heard the gold horsie klon can do it?

[@jackkivett110]

That Ooh Wah has to be the only pedal ever made that comes close to the Pete Townshend guitar solo on Going Mobile. Apparently played his guitar through one of his ARP synths, very original and whacky sound.

[@blueskoebes]

Best T-Shirt! Hell of the North!

[@asmahism]

Beefheart is amazing. That 33 1/3 book is great. You’ll enjoy it. Big plus to you for owning what looks like an original straight pressing. Favorite strange record? Hmmm first to come to mind is Nico Marble Index. Her voice which is unique on its own is paired with ambient dissonant droning. A very uncomfortable listen but made me love Nico even more. Favorite weird pedal? It’s not really weird and it may not be safe but I like plugging a cheap mic into a whammy 5 and making my voice sound like a monster or a fairy. I’m really digging these videos keep in coming!

[@daneguitarist1]

god these pedals.. i want them all hahaha i am thinking you might have missed that Geiger counter pedal, ive always wanted one but could never actually rationalize buying one hahaha great vid!

[@daneguitarist1]

you own the beefheart record!! geeesauce that is so cool! i think that album is ... just plain unable to like...... like sonic ly haha lol, but its more of an event and insane

[@seancurtin5131]

Many thanks for showing those but most of all 2 solid thumbs up for the plug on Captain Beefheart and the Magic Bands 'Trout Mask Replica', seriously one of the greatest experimental rock n roll albums ever made. If your a fan of this fascinating album, give Drumbo's latest album 'City Of Refuge' a whirl(it features most of the magic band, slightly free to explore a new avenue of music while going back to elements of Trout Mask Replica)he even manages to get an incredible emulation in his vocals to the late captain but honestly it was one of the best albums I'd heard in a long time. Give it a whirl and enjoy.

[@axedoc2010]

The Mid-Fi Clarinot is another great weird pedal

[@hrwildem4993]

I've been watching a lot of these videos over the last few days, but always skip when you get to the record time bit - today I'm glad I stuck around. Trout Mask is a an American masterpiece, on par with Baseball and apple pie. Great to see such an underrated album get a platform with such a large viewing. Thanks Josh, weird is good.

[@hrwildem4993]

note: worth checking out the interviews Samuel Andreyev did with the members of the Trout Mask lineup. Available on youtube, very informative. Also worth checking out Henry Cow if you're digging the weird. The Canterbury scene and RIO groups are all a little more open to "weird"

[@stulora3172]

Now that I see that record time includes classic albums and not just new ones.... I am sure you know this, but King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King is one of the best music ever written and recorded. The next two albums (at least) are not less interesting and great.

[@patricklemire9278]

This is why the new videos are killer. Now Josh would be featuring the pedals in a jam to show they really are useful.

[@josepcla]

You wearing a Belgium cycling t-shirt? Hahaha. Amazing.

[@jeremyrandall7228]

Yes that’s a rad shirt. Ride bikes jhs?

[@thesquigglespin]

My submission for weird pedal is the Mel 9 tape replay from Electro Harmonix. This has a great vibe to it, especially when I play my Yamaha DX-7 through it. Now my weird album pick is The Cosmic Hippo, by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. This guy takes the banjo where no one dares to go. 🎧

[@lucasbrunne5193]

Love the DOD Gonkulator sound, I'll have to look up one of the reissues. But how does one get a JHS modified Ds-1?

[@jhspedals]

Get on our website and order from the mods tab. There's a couple options there. We don't do the new ones, but if you open it up and it's an older version, you can send it in and we'll mod it.

[@johndante1842]

Shoutout to Mattoverse! I really really like the stuff and wanted to support so I bought a tetrastep and pulsetone a few years back. I have the Original Tetrastep #13 handpainted and paired with a Pulsetone #10, absolutely love the mattoverse stuff.

[@gowithgroove]

Today's failure is tomorrow's genius! Weirdnesswise, I have been a fan of ring modulation ever since I heard Jabba's droid say, "You're a feisty little one" in Return of the Jedi....

[@orlock20]

The Digitech Space Station XP300 multi effects pedal. If somebody loves to play with sounds, that's the pedal to get them. Many ounces of LSD and magic mushrooms were used in the making of that product.

[@YHRS]

This one comes to mind, Focus doing Hocus Pocus (is the guitarist playing through a Marshall Major? I can't quite tell): kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHeniGyYlMqdnKs I like The Age of Adz, which can be summarized as "Sufjan Stevens has an existential meltdown with Omnisphere". Then there's The Black Rider, which I find unlistenable even as a huge Tom Waits fan. I find a perverse pleasure in Six Demon Bag from Man Man. I imagine it's what the inside of a demented carney's head must've sounded like in 1900.

[@elpetardomalo999]

1snakefinger-chewing hides the sound 2 can-Tago mago 3 Joe Meek-i hear a new world 4 john frusciante-niandra lads ussualy just a t shirt 5 Twink-think pink 6 Quicksilver Message Service-Happy Trails 7 snakefinger-Greener Postures 8 Tuxedo Moon-No Tears 9 the birthday party-junkyard 10 Can-egg bamyasi

[@uriar5073]

Ottobit by merris is weird. Exposure by Robert Fripp is a crazy album as is most of his solo work

[@chrisnewmandeluxecombo6545]

i love this shit! I have Trout Mask Replica, I got it for xmas a few years ago and was determined to listen to it 10 times in a row in one sitting. I also read Zoot Horn Rollo's book and it was amazing, JHS rules!

[@sebuteo]

Drummer John French also has a book, Through The Eyes of Magic, about his times/experiences with B-Fart and co. It's not the best most readable of books. But it is very comprehensive on an interesting subject.

[@anilyazar_]

Tube Screamers are pretty weird

[@KeithEiger]

Weird pedal - Digitech PDS 2020. And awesome. Digital delay with modulation options of flanger and chorus, and a freeze option. Better described - the Ultimate Detuner. 3 dials that can make a combo of delay effects which I have ne'er heard otherwise, although that Lovetone Flange hints in that direction.

[@sk8ter4life171]

Turn up your amp, we can still hear the guitar strings over the noise coming out of the amp

[@geecen]

Nice t-shirt! Nearly spring classic season again and I can stop spending all my time watching youtube videos ;)

[@chrissoares23]

Weird album? Hmm, anything off the Dr. Demento Show. Fish Heads. But, I think I'll go with Vai's Flexible album. Kinda weird.

[@lorencobbyweber646]

Chris Soares little green men is my jam!!

[@garrettboomerbender]

Very cool series of videos! Keep them coming!